I called a septic hauler last week in Minnesota and was surprised when he wanted to talk my ear off in the middle of the day. Usually when I call a contractor at midday, he almost has to drop a hose to pick up his ringing cell phone. I can tell he’s busy and I’m interrupting his work. So I’ll apologize for calling and get my business done in a hurry.

Well, I could tell this contractor was sitting back in his office chair, probably with his feet up on the desk, and happy to tell me about his kids, grandkids and recount what he just ate for lunch. Knowing how busy pumpers can be, I had to ask why he had so much time on his hands.

“Weight restrictions kicked in this week. It’s a good time to talk,’’ he said. Oh yeah, we’re up north, (I’m in Wisconsin) and that means that the local town and city governments can temporarily shut down a trucking-related business at any time to preserve the paved roads from damage during the spring thaw. Since the vehicle I drive every day tops out at about 4,000 pounds – fully loaded with my family of four – weight restriction season isn’t always on my mind.

If you operate south of the Mason-Dixon line, you might not be familiar with the concept. Weight restrictions are just one of the climate-related challenges only northern pumpers have to cope with, along with frozen portable restroom tanks and corrosion from months of driving over road salt.

For the uninitiated, here’s how it works: Municipalities set safe weight limits for vehicles passing over roads when the ground is saturated and spongy. It might be 3 tons on some roads, 5 tons on other roads, etc., depending on the road bed. Companies running trucks will get a list or map that shows where they can and can’t go. As you can imagine, this annual tradition puts a crimp in a service schedule and make it difficult – if not impossible – to respond to emergency calls.

So if you’re up north and kicking back waiting for weight restrictions to expire, it’s a good time to drop me a line and share your concerns about the upcoming busy season – or even to share a photo submission for our Classy Truck feature. I always look forward to hearing from a new pumper. Reach me at editor@pumper.com.